Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 409: Ancestral Spirits and Preparations
Eastern Plateau, Monaya, the capital of the orcs
The atmosphere of war is getting more and more intense. A large number of orc troops are gathering towards the royal capital. The entire orc capital has turned into a huge barracks. Almost all the orcs know that the kingdom is about to launch a final decisive battle against humans. .
In a side hall of the orc palace, the atmosphere was different from the restlessness in the capital because of the impending war.
The hall was filled with smoke. An old orc wearing a pig-head mask was beating around a bonfire and kept mumbling something. Several waiters around him also wore strange masks and stood silently, except for the old man in the middle. Except for the occasional noise produced by the orcs and the burning brazier, there was no other sound, and the whole scene looked strange and mysterious.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the flames in the brazier exploded violently. The flames that were originally burning soared seven to eight meters high and reached the roof directly. Fortunately, the palace was mainly built of stone, so the flames that burst into flames were not that big. As for setting the house on fire.
Only the Orc King Haldane, who had been standing outside the house, finally changed his expression when he saw this scene.
Originally, the Orc King Haldane didn't really believe in this. In the era when the magic tide was low, the actual role of the Orc Shaman was almost the same as that of the human court mage. He could not release any spells and could not play any role. Different from human court mages, orc shamans also have some religious elements in them.
Even if the great shaman can no longer cast spells and perform the unique psychic rituals of the orcs, he is still respected in the orc kingdom. At least Haldane has always given the shaman face out of respect for tradition and ancestors. , the shaman of the Orc Kingdom did not become a loser in the eyes of everyone like the court mage of the Golden Dragon Kingdom.
However, Haldane generally would not take the initiative to come to the Great Shaman except for some important festivals. After the Shaman lost his mana, he was still reduced to half a mascot in the Orc Kingdom.
Only this time, for the first time, Haldane found the Great Shaman on a very ordinary day.
Because he needs confirmation, a piece of information Adriello revealed to him, that the magic is reviving.
At this time, the explosion of the brazier completely attracted Haldane's attention, and then something even more bizarre happened. As the brazier appeared strange, the great shaman suddenly fell to the ground, and his whole body began to twitch.
The originally calm waiters around them all looked panicked. However, the great shaman told everyone before the ceremony began that they were not allowed to touch him at will. Now everyone stopped in place and was at a loss.
"Master Shaman!"
"Uh..."
The shaman seemed to be huddled in place in great pain, making some indescribable whimpering sounds from his mouth.
However, Haldane discovered that some strange changes had taken place in the great shaman. The other person's withered body slowly bulged up, not like a balloon, but starting from the muscles of the limbs. , the originally skinny Dashan slowly turned into an orc warrior who looked as strong as Haldane.
"This..."
Haldane stood there, watching the gradual transformation of the Great Shaman without making any movement, until the Great Shaman's whimpering stopped at some point, his curled up body also relaxed, and then he slowly stood up.
When the other party stood up, Haldane was surprised to find that the great shaman wearing a pig-head mask was a whole head taller than before, and his back became straight and no longer rickety. If he hadn't witnessed the whole process with his own eyes, , Haldane simply would not believe that the big shaman standing upright now was the same person as the rickety and thin guy just now.
No, maybe this is not the same person.
"Where is this?"
A strange voice came from the mouth of the great shaman in front of him. Different from the hoarse voice of the great shaman, this voice was full of energy and had no sense of incompatibility with the current body.
"Who are you?"
The surrounding waiters were numb with fear at this time. As assistants to the shaman, they had done this ritual of communicating with the spirits of ancestors countless times. No matter how mysterious it seemed to others, in their eyes It's all the same thing here, and it's just a bluff to ordinary orcs. Even the orc kings generally don't believe in this stuff. They think that they just cooperate with the big shaman to perform for a while and that's it.
But today's situation was completely beyond their expectations. The changes that took place in the great shaman were something they had never seen before.
Only Haldane, facing the strange situation at this time, had some guesses and communicated with the other party first.
"Who am I? I am the Orc Emperor Gro."
"Who are you?"
"Gero?"
Hearing this name, the surrounding orcs were stunned. It wasn't that they didn't know the name, but that the name was too loud.
Gero is a well-known strong man in the history of orcs. Some even say that Gro is the strongest orc. Under his leadership, the orc clan has reached its peak. He is also the only orc king in the past who calls himself the emperor. The orc king.
However, although the orcs reached their peak under his leadership, they almost perished in his hands.
Because at almost the same time, Aragorn emerged. The arrogant Grotto faced Aragorn's challenge and chose to fight Aragorn. As a result, he was defeated and beheaded by Aragorn in full view of the public, which directly led to the orc war. Defeated in an important battle.
However, his failure does not affect his status among the orcs. He is still a hero worshiped by the orcs.
It's just that now everything is just the other person claiming to be. Haldane looked at the great shaman who now claimed to be Gro, and he was also judging the authenticity of the other person's identity in his heart.
"No, this body is not mine, I am already dead."
Before Haldane opened his mouth to explain anything, the other party seemed to react on his own.
"Is it a spiritual ceremony? I didn't expect that I would become the summoned ancestor spirit."
"Haha."
Gero, as the orc king five hundred years ago, still knew something about the great shaman's psychic rituals. At that time, the magic power had not been completely exhausted, and the orc shaman and human mages could occasionally use one or two. When the small spell came out, Gro knew more about these things than Haldane. After glancing around, he quickly realized his state.
"Are you the orc king of this generation?"
The "Great Shaman" suddenly looked at Haldane in front of him and asked.
Haldane, who was being stared at by the opponent, suddenly felt a huge pressure, and his body seemed to be a little heavier. However, Haldane, who had been the king for a long time, still straightened his waist and looked at the opponent and said:
"Orc King Haldane Lane, pays tribute to His Majesty Gro."
"A little weak in strength, but good in aura. He is indeed a member of my Ryan family."
"Okay, no more gossip, time is limited, tell me where the enemy is, and take action immediately."
The great shaman looks like he is gearing up to fight at any time, but where can he find his enemies in the orc capital.
"Your Majesty Gro, there are no enemies for now."
"No enemies? Without enemies, what channeling ritual do you use? Do you know how much a channeling consumes?"
"To be honest, no great shaman has succeeded in the channeling ceremony since you. This is the first time in five hundred years that it has been successful."
Then Haldane told Grotto about the situation of these five hundred years, and the other party fell into silence after listening.
"It turns out that it's been so long..."
"You said, the magic power has recovered?"
"I wasn't sure before, but seeing you appear, I think the so-called messenger of God didn't lie to me."
"To agree to his request for alliance, we must immediately launch an attack on humans without any delay."
"But, I think the other party may have bad intentions as well."
"That is for the future. Now we must defeat humans first. After the magic is revived, the longer it takes, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. Humans' magical talent is second only to that of elves. Don't give humans more time. ”
"I understand, Your Majesty Gro."
"Well, I'm leaving now. Next time, remember to summon the ancestors during the battle. I can feel that this body may not last a few rituals."
Obviously, even when the magic power is revived, the side effects of activating this ritual are very huge, and it is difficult for the communicating ancestor spirits to exert their full combat power on the shaman's body, but this person is more or less able Judging from the aura of the person who fought against Peak Aragorn, who could suppress Haldane with a single glare, he should still have some strength, but the upper limit of his strength is limited by the shaman's body.
After Gro said these words, the great shaman in front of Haldane suddenly twitched and fell to the ground. The muscles that were bulging just now shrank visibly to the naked eye.
The pig head mask also rolled to the side after the Great Shaman fell to the ground, revealing the Great Shaman's old wrinkled face.
Perhaps it was because the Great Shaman's body was too weak, or perhaps Gro's spiritual strength was too strong. After Grot left, the Great Shaman fell to the ground and passed out, making Haldane nervous. , stepped forward and sniffed the other person's breath.
Although there are still many orc shamans preserved, the only one who still inherits the art of communicating with ancestral spirits is the great shaman. If the great shaman falls asleep, then Haldane will He's going to be caught blind.
Fortunately, the great shaman only fainted because of the heavy burden on Gro's upper body.
After Haldane confirmed that the other party's life was not in danger for the time being, he felt a little relieved, and then ordered to the people around him:
"Take the great shaman back to bed to rest."
"In a moment, let the witch doctor from the palace come over and give the Great Shaman a look. Any medicine you need can be taken directly from the palace's inventory. You must keep the Great Shaman healthy."
Now that the great shaman is temporarily concerned with the arrival of the ancestor spirits, Haldane is suddenly much more concerned than before. It was difficult for shamans in the past to receive such treatment.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After saying that, several waiters around him went up to lift the fallen shaman and put him back on the soft bed in the room.
After Haldane paused for a moment, he turned and left. After seeing that the spirit of the ancestors could only stay on the body of the great shaman for a limited time, and the side effects were huge, he felt slightly relieved...
If the ancestral spirit that communicates can descend on the great shaman for a long time without restriction, that is not good news for Haldane. Even if this master is the late king of the Lane family...
…
Northland
Duke's Palace
The various magical features of Miracle City have been spread under Richard's deliberate publicity. Living in Miracle City can improve the efficiency of cultivation, prolong life, delay aging, and even make your appearance last forever. coming.
Originally, even the farmers in the countryside might not be fooled by these nonsense, but I don’t know when, the knights in the North really discovered that practicing in Miracle City is more efficient, and the improvement is obvious. , so he took the initiative to move towards Miracle City.
For these knights, regardless of whether other effects are true or false, this increase in practice efficiency is real. However, small nobles like the Bender family and the Nader family who first took refuge in Richard simply took advantage of the fact that Miracle City’s housing prices are still low. When the price did not rise, he quickly bought a few more houses in Miracle City. He even sold the castle and nearby apprentices that were originally reserved, and became a city aristocrat.
With these knights taking the lead, and many wealthy businessmen having some relationship with the knights, after the wealthy businessmen confirmed that Miracle City indeed had special effects, they also took the initiative to move towards Miracle City. With the powerful and wealthy businessmen taking the lead, the common people who initially thought the rumors of Miracle City were outrageous also began to waver.
Maybe Miracle City really has such a powerful function? No wonder this is called Miracle City.
Now the common people who have the conditions are also moving towards Miracle City. Although they cannot buy houses in the inner circle like the knights and wealthy businessmen, they still have a small house on the edge of the city.
The population of Miracle City expanded rapidly in a short period of time.
Now the street outside the Duke's Palace is full of people coming and going. It is not as deserted as it was in the previous two months, and the expansion of the population has also brought a large amount of income to Richard.
The land in Miracle City originally belonged to the Will family in Boulder Castle, but since the Will family was destroyed, the ownership of this land naturally returned to the Hunter family.
After such a period of fermentation, the price of not only the houses in Miracle City, but also the land around Miracle City increased several times. In half a month, it brought Richard an income of hundreds of thousands of gold. It has completely made up for the deficit in the previous war against the Snow Giants, and there is even money left to build several new road projects. With the continuous influx of immigrants from Miracle City, the Hunter family's finances have become increasingly comfortable.
Although land finance is not advisable, it is really delicious...
However, a guest from the Royal Capital came to Miracle City today. He was welcomed to the Duke's Mansion as a liaison officer for the Eastern Expedition. By the way, he also came to urge Richard to take action. From the time Renn ordered to send an envoy to now About a week has passed, and the time is just right.
For the major event of the Eastern Expedition, although Richard was only responsible for the harassment on the North Road, he still needed to coordinate with the army, and a liaison officer was also necessary.
After confirming the other party's token and identity, Miracle City officials politely placed the other party down and waited for Richard's interview.
…